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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

5 Knitting Tips Suitable for Every Knitter

I'm very close to having this new pattern ready to publish, and so I really can't contain myself anymore - I simply have to share a little peak of it here! This one involves cables in a chocolatey combination to celebrate the beautiful colours of the alpaca fleece the yarn is spun from. It's completely un-dyed, and what's really wonderful about this yarn is that it's 100% Australian - from the fleece to the mill, it's all grown and produced here by Australian families and businesses. Isn't that wonderful?
Needless to say, I'll be having some of this gorgeous yarn land in my shop soon too, so I'll definitely be telling you more about it, and my new pattern, then!

In the meantime, I've got my top five knitting tips to share with you today. Those of you who receive my fortnightly knitting inspiration newsletter will know that at the end of the email is always a little tip titled "Hedgehog Says....". It's one of the most popular parts of the newsletter, and I thought it would be good to share some more tips here with all of you. These are just a few of the things I have learned over time, and I hope they'll be helpful to you!

1. If you need to join on a new yarn mid-project, try to do it at the beginning of a row, that way when you darn in the extra ends it will be nicely hidden into the seam

2. At the end of a project, there's nothing more annoying than deciding to do one extra row, and then discovering you've not enough yarn left to cast off with. To know with confidence that you've enough for your added row as well as casting off, there's a simple measuring trick: loosely lay the yarn across the width of the row 4 times. You'll have enough to finish! If you're doing a stitch design that may use more yarn (such as cables, colour work, etc.) lay it across 5 times just to be on the safe side.

3. When making something that will need seaming, leave a long cast-on or cast- off tail on the end that you'll be doing the sewing on. For instance, when I'm making a toy if the arm limb is worked from the shoulder seam out, I leave a long cast-on tail.

4. There aren't a lot of tools you need for knitting, but a row counter is definitely a must have! You can buy ones that go on the end of your needles, around your neck or even download an app.
I personally love my Clover row counter, it's lockable which is extremely handy.
If I'm working a more complicated pattern I like to use an app, as I can have several counters on the go at once. It's very convenient when, for example, I'm keeping track of a stitch pattern repeat, having to increase every 4th row and need to track the overall amount of rows all at once. I use Knit Counter Lite, it's free and very basic but suits me perfectly.

5. When knitting a project that has different sizing options, go through the pattern after measuring and circle or highlight the size you'll be making throughout the entire pattern. It makes it much easier come knitting time, and almost impossible for you to make a sizing mistake too!

Bonus Tip! Another tool that is invaluable is the Clover Pompom Makers. They are seriously the best little thing ever! Pompoms finish most knitting projects off beautifully, but I hate the traditional way of making pompoms. They're super fun with the makers though. I own the small set but manage to load the larger of the two up enough to create large pompoms. You can get a large set though, which is probably one I really ought to buy and stop overloading my little one!

I hope you've found today's post helpful!
Perhaps you could share a knitting tip of your own in the comments below?

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Welcome to Say! Little Hen. This blog is written by me, Sarah, from my home in New South Wales, Australia. I'm the lucky owner of an online yarn boutique and as wool is a huge part of my life it's a big part of this blog, too. Alongside knitting, you'll also find posts about sourdough and gardening, and lots of photos.

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